Choices
by Eat Your Heart Out Darling
Summary: Wanderer is a normal soul. She has friends, she has a job, a house, and she even teaches other souls about the universe. Everything was normal. Or, at least that was before she found people raiding her house in the middle of the night.
1. Chapter 1

**Well hello there! Thank you for clicking onto this story! For people who've read my other stories, I've decided to write yet another! For newcomers, welcome! I hope you like the story, and, regardless, I hope you review. Or favorite. Or follow. Whichever floats your boat. Just do something. Well, enjoy the chapter!**

**Chapter 1**

"I told you, I'm almost there." I say into my cellphone, scanning the brightly lit strip mall outside of the car.

"Ok, whatever you say; I'll be the one standing alone on the side of the building." I laugh to myself and scan the road until my eyes land on a familiarly lit building. I quickly turn into the parking lot, glancing along the sidewalk for Sing.

"Calm down, I'm here. Good bye Sing." I quickly end the call and place my cell phone on the center console before pulling into an empty parking space. After double checking that the parking break is in place, I grab my purse and step onto the wet asphalt.

Wind slaps at my cheeks, and I shiver before wrapping my sweater more tightly around my shoulders, trying to keep myself as warm as possible. The cotton stretches across my chest and tightened slightly around my frozen arms.

It still amazes me how cold it can get at night here, especially after a rainstorm. You'd think the Tucson heat would at least last through the nighttime. Maybe it's an Earth thing.

I walk towards the theatre, my shoes making little _splish splosh_ noises on the road. I purposefully step in all the puddles, laughing like a child when the cold water splashes on my legs. Across the parking lot I can make out Sing's head of long black hair leaning against the side of the building.

As I step onto the sidewalk she smiles and sits up.

"Hello Wanda, I'm glad you made it,." She says as she walks in front of one of the doorways, the light flashing across her silver eyes.

"Hello Sing. I would have made it here earlier, but the roads were really crowded. The movie hasn't started yet, has it?" I ask worriedly. I hope I didn't make her miss the movie.

"Don't worry, we still have 10 minutes; just enough time to get some popcorn." She smiles and starts walking ahead, glancing back after a few strides to make sure I'm following. I laughed and follow, but nod towards the door to tell her to go ahead. Out of all the food on Earth, popcorn is one of Sing's absolute favorites.

I glance around me, scanning the different movie posters hung up on each of the walls. I don't actually know what movie we're seeing. I've never really found much interest in movies; they always end the same way, which gets boring after a while. But, it's always better than staying at home alone for another Friday night.

I push open the doors and start walking towards the concessions, where Sing is currently holding a jumbo-sized popcorn bucket.

"You do realize that I'm only going to able to eat about 10% of that, right?" She nods quickly, her mouth already filled with the salty yellow food. I glance over and nod my thank you at the attendant currently standing at the popcorn station. Thanks yous are our pretty much our only form of payment, so I give all I can.

I follow Sing through the twisting path of hallways before stopping outside of one with a sign above the doorway that read _Theatre 18._

"Here we are." Sing says. We walk inside, around the wall and into the mass of seats. We walk up the stairs and take two seats above an elderly couple. Almost immediately the dark screen turns green, announcing that a trailer was about to start. I lean back, trying to ignore the scratchy seat on my bare leg.

"So how was your day?" I asked, trying to break the silence. She visibly freezes, her hand pausing mid-grab. She bites her lip, and glnaces at me, only to quickly glance back at the screen.

"Oh, um, it was fine; nothing special." She says quickly. She

clamps her mouth shut and looked towards the screen, shoveling popcorn in her mouth. I feel my eyebrows furrow together, and I open my mouth to say something, but then quickly shut it.

"Are you ok?" I ask. I instantly regret asking; I don't have any right to intrude in her business, and I'm being absolutely rude.

"Nothing happened. I'm fine." She turns away from and back towards the screen, sending me in into a parade of guilt. I feel my cheeks flush crimson, and it's suddenly very warm in the theatre. I take off my sweater, careful not to bump Sing, and sit it neatly on my lap. I'm too embarrassed to talk to Sing or look at her, so we sit in silence until the movie starts.

Through the whole two hours I don't eat any popcorn, and I can barely pay attention to the movie. I glance over at Sing every so often, just enough to notice that her face softened more and more as the movie progressed.

When the movie finally ends we get up in silence and head back through the maze and then outside. The squishing noises my shoes make are no longer as interesting.

"Sing, I must apologize; I should not have pried in your business. If you don't want to tell me about your work, then you don't have to. I'm sorry." I look down at my shoes, embarrassed about the whole situation.

"It's fine; I was kind of a jerk about it." Sing replies; I look back up, relief flooding through me.

"It's just…" Sing looks around us, and then starts walking towards the parking lot. I follow her, spotting her car at the far end.

"It's just that…we found something out today. Have you been watching the news lately?" Sing asks without turning around.

"Yes, I have." I answer.

"Well, have you heard any stories about any break-ins?" I abruptly stop, so surprised that my feet stop moving.

Break-ins? What kind of soul would think to steal from another?

I glance up and, realizing that Sing's no longer right in front of me, speed up until I'm next to her.

"Break-ins? What kind of break-ins?"

"There's been a series of break-ins across town; from what we can tell they've happened in the middle of night, when nobody's home. A lot of seekers from my department were sent to check it out, but they didn't find anything. The main things that have been stolen are food and drinks, give or take some other stuff." I stared, open-mouthed, at the back of her head. (which is rude, but I can't help it)

"Why hasn't any of this been on the news?"

"We don't want anyone to worry and start freaking out; hopefully the robberies will stop, but if they don't we'll work on tracking them down."

"But souls don't steal from each other." I stated, walking faster to keep up with her.

"That's right;_souls_ don't." I watch as she climbs into her car, trying to figure what she's saying.

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Sing bites her lip, trying to decide whether or not to tell me.

"Don't tell anyone I said this, but we think that the break ins were committed by…_humans."_

"Humans?" I ask in disbelief. I glance around, suddenly feeling very exposed in the empty parking lot.

"What are you saying? Are they here? Now?"

"I'm not saying anything…yet. Just, please, be careful. I'm sorry, but I've got to go. I'll talk to you later."

She casts a final glance over at me before slowly backing out of the space and onto the road.

I watch as she drives away, suddenly feeling really alone in the empty parking lot. I quickly walk to my car and get inside, glancing around me.

Robberies. Souls don't rob each other; why would we? We have all we ever need. All we could ever want and more. That means one thing. Humans.

Humans. We're told they're dangerous. The seekers warn us of them, not often, but we've been warned before.

There was an incident about a few weeks ago, a human found on the outskirts of town. He took down three seekers, two on the road through fighting. My friend, Sun, was the third one that was killed. He chased the human down in a car, but the human ran him off the road and Sun crashed.

It wasn't mentioned in any news station, and the only reason I knew was because of Sing. She had said her department was on alert, but it's long since died down. Until today, that is.

I bite my lip and glance around me again, the dark lot doing little to reassure me. I quickly turn the car on and back out of the lot, calculating the shortest route home.

My house is bigger than most. I assume that my host must have had a lot of money, and spent a majority of it on her house. It sits on the outskirts of the city, right next to the desert part of Tucson. The house is a two-story building, surrounded by grass and few neighbors. what neighbors I do have are all the way down the road and out of sight. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the peace, but it can be lonely sometimes.

The downstairs starts with a long hallway, which leads all the way to the kitchen. The kitchen leads to a sunroom (a room with all windows for walls) and a living room, which stretches opposite of the hallway. There's a staircase between the hallways and living room, which leads upstairs to the bedrooms. Mine is at the end of the hall.

I pull into the driveway and, after pressing a button in the car, into the garage. My car fits snugly into the mostly empty garage. I hop out and walked inside, using the garage door.

I walk down the hallway and up the stairs, all the way to my bedroom. (which is at the end of the hallway) I absentmindedly twist my blonde hair around my finger as I hang my purse up on one of the hooks in my closet. I dig a shirt and some shorts out of the closet and toss them on the bed, pulling off my own shirt afterwards.

I quickly change into the outfit and flop down on the bed, but not before flicking off my light and flooding the room in darkness (minus the moon light coming through my window)

I flip over onto my side so that I'm facing the window, little white streaks flooding my face. Stars surround it like a halo, and I feel as if I could stare at them for hours.

After all, one can never tire of watching the stars.

**And that's it; I hope you liked it. I kinda suck at 1st chapters though. Just give it a chance. Please! Now, as I said above, please review, favorite, or follow. Trust me, this story'll be good. Other chapters will be much longer, i'm just making this one short cuz I want to see if you guys like it. So, let me know!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! As a writer, you don't know how much it means to have people read your story.**

**Oh, and before I forget, SimplyJordy: Thanks for the pointer; I forgot about that when I began, and after a little while I just kinda put it in so that you could realize that they are good friends. And haha it's not bullying, just a pointer. :{)**

**Chapter 2**

Something wretches my eyes open, and I'm greeted by the dark ceiling above me. I sit in silence, trying to figure out why I woke up. My eyes dart around the room, trying to spot anything out of place, anything different. But no, everything looks normal; everything is in its place. I slowly bring my hand up to my heart, feeling the hummingbird-like beating beneath it.

I try to slow my breathing, in efforts to get it to stop. Nothing seems to help, so I reach over and open the window. A cool breeze tickles my nose, brushing a long lock of hair momentarily off of my cheek.

I stick my head out of the window and breath in the fresh air, savoring the quiet and peacefulness of my front yard. I close my eyes and take it in, and for a second, I feel like I'm flying.

Suddenly a slam echoes through the night, causing my eyes to snap open. Again. I scan the road, though I already knew that there isn't a car. No one ever goes down this road, (apart from the occasional seeker) especially right now. I don't know exactly what time it is, but it's definitely not early enough for anyone to be on the road.

I glance in the direction of the houses down the road, hoping that the headlights of an upcoming car would appear over the top of the hill, but there are none. It makes sense though; I would never be able to hear any cars that far down the road.

Singer's conversation about break-ins creeps its way into the edge of my mind, and a feeling of dread creeps up my throat. I feel my heart begin to beat faster than ever, and the yard suddenly seems too dark and too empty, the breeze too cold.

I quickly pull my head in and glance behind me, towards the dark hallway extending from my room. The dark has never bothered me before, but right now it has me frozen in place. My hands start to shake as I slowly get up off the bed, every creak of my floorboards making me jump.

I carefully pad down the hallway, my light footsteps barely making a sound. (which I am grateful for) When I reach the railing that overlooks my front hallway, my heart jumps to my throat. What will I do if someone's down there? I can't fight, and I most likely can't out run them. I bite my lip and quickly look over the railing and sigh in relief at the dark hallway. I glance over at the front door which, to my satisfaction is still closed. I glance over to the kitchen. Dark.

I smile settles on my face; of course no one would be in the house. I'm letting Sing's seeker talk get into my head! My cheeks grow hot in embarrassment at how silly I was being, and I make my way down the stairs.

I walk down the hall and into the kitchen, flipping on the lights as I go. Though I am momentarily blinded, I'm grateful for the light; it ensures that I would see anyone or anything in the house. But when I reach the kitchen my uneasiness returns.

Something's wrong here, something out of place. I don't know what it is, but something's not right. I scan the rows of cabinets. Nothing. Sink. Nothing. Table. Not- I freeze as something catches my eye. Lying underneath one of the chairs, fully out of place, is a long, black-brown object. I walk over to it, and when I get close enough, I realize the brown is actually the deep brown of a type of wood.

I pick up the object, examining the thick, scratched wood and adjoining metal tubes coming out of it. The whole thing is covered in at least an inch of what looks like dust, like the kind found out in the desert down the road. Some of it rubs off on my fingers, turning them a yellow-orange color. I turn it around and glance into the tubes, hoping that it would give some indication as to what it is, but it doesn't.

As a last resort I begin searching back through my host's memories, looking for something similar to the object in her history. After minutes of searching, I finally come across the memory of a man holding one against the front of his shoulder.

_Gun _her mind whispers. With the word comes a memory of a field. Two groups of people face each other, all holding the "guns" to their shoulders. Loud popping sounds fill the air, and I gasp out loud as some of the men fall. I'm thrust out of the memory and back into my kitchen. Did I just watch men die? And at the hands of such a small object none the less? An object currently sitting in my hands…

I let out a sharp gasp and drop the gun as if it burned me. I guess it was a mistake, because when it hits the floor a loud bang erupts though the small kitchen. I let out a scream and cover my ears, crouching down at the same time for cover. No no no this can't be happening it's going to kill someone on it's own. The bang echoes through the room, and my ears are still ringing long after the blast is over.

My own heavy breathing fills my ears, and I slowly peel one eye open and look down at the gun. The tip of the metal tubes is smoking, and I can see a small, black scorch mark on the floor.

I sigh and attempt to wipe it off, upset that I've ruined such a beautiful piece of tile, but when my fingers touch the dust, they suddenly get very warm. Ow! I quickly yank my hand back, the black dust burning the tips of my fingers.

I blow on them and try to wipe them on my shorts, but it does nothing but continue to irritate them. What am I supposed to do for a burn? I've only ever gotten heal from the doctors… maybe if I put something cold on it. I stand up and walk over to my sink, blowing on my finger the whole time. I turn on the freezing water and quickly stick my finger underneath it, relishing in the coolness that spreads over it.

It's while I'm doing this that I finally notice the hole in wall. I gasp and run over, hoping that maybe I'm imaging it. But, no, because when I stick my fingers out to touch it, they go right through it.

Oh no, what have I done…I've ruined the wall; the wall that someone spent so long building. All because of some violent gun.

Wait. Why _is _there a gun here? I glance over at it, lying discarded on the floor.

I didn't bring it in, and I'm the only one ever in this house. That means that someone else must have brought it in.

My blood runs cold when I realize what that means. It means that someone was in my house, that someone was in this kitchen. Someone that had a gun and left it.

I stare at it, wondering how long it was sitting there, how long ago someone was here.

What do I do with it? I debate about putting it in the yard, but I don't want any other souls to somehow see it. I could call Singer in the morning; she'll probably know what to do with it.

I walk over and pick it up again, the weight awkward in my hands. I bite my lip and glance down the hallway, trying to find a place to hide it for now. My eyes sweep the floor, finally stopping on a chest sitting against the wall, just large enough to hold it. I walk over and place it inside, closing the lid afterwards. There; out of sight, out of mind.

Only, it's not out of my mind; the sound of the gun shooting vibrates through my head, and I cringe. I can't imagine the kind of person that would carry such a thing.

I walk back into the kitchen, just now glancing at the digital clock on the stove.

_6:00 t_he neon green numbers read.

Oh; it's already morning. I sigh; there's no way I'll be able to go back to sleep now. I might as well stay up.

I walk over to the counter, careful to step over the scorch mark, and turn on the coffee pot.

…..

"Hello, you've reached Singer, I apologize for missing your call. Please leave me a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!"

"Hello Sing, it's Wanda again; it's now 6:30, and I apologize for calling again, but there is something I really need to tell you. Please call me back." I sigh and hit the end button on the 3rd call to Singer today. I assume she's busy at work, but I wish she would answer her phone. The gun is still sitting in my chest, and the more the day has dragged on the more I feel like I'm hiding a dark secret by not telling anyone.

I steal a peak at the chest, which is still sitting in the same place as before. I feel like somehow it's moved or changed, but it hasn't. The only thing that's changed is the scorch mark on my tile, which I somehow managed to wipe off. I also noticed while making my breakfast this morning that any bottles of water I had in my fridge were missing, along with some potatoes, carrots and some other fruit that I had in my pantry.

So, it looks like I _was _robbed last night, like I thought I was; all the more reason for Sing to call me back.

My thought is cut short as I hear a small _ping_ from across the room, signaling that I've gotten an email.

I cross into my sunroom, where my computer sits, and open my email account. I look at the newest email, one from one of my students at the university, asking about a lesson I gave on Friday. I smile to myself, happy that other souls are interested in my stories and the universe.

I quickly type an email back, encouraging her to talk to other souls about it, and hear their opinions on it.

After I send it I sit back, looking out of one of the windows. The sun shines through and onto my face, but I don't care. I think the nature here is beautiful, even when looking at it through a glass wall.

My sun bathing is soon interrupted by a loud growl from my stomach. When did I last eat? I can't recall, but I think it was around 11; I probably _should _eat right about now.

I get up and make my way to the kitchen, already trying to figure out something to eat. I don't have much, considering I haven't gone to the store yet this weekend. I think I might have some noodles…I could make spaghetti.

I glance in my pantry, smiling at the sight of the box of noodles sitting on one of the shelves. I grab those and a jar of sauce from another, taking them both over to the oven.

15 minutes later I have a steaming plate of spaghetti sitting in front of me on my bar. I'm about to take a bite when I see the chest in the corner of my eye; mocking me. I turn in the other direction, opting to look outside the window instead.

When I get halfway through my plate, I hear something that I rarely ever hear on this road; a truck engine. Not many souls drive trucks, and definitely not out here. Very few trucks have the kind of tires made for the desert now. Maybe I should peek out of the window.

I'm about to step around the bar when I hear a door slam. I freeze on the spot, eyes slowly traveling to the direction of the door, and then to the chest. No…this can't be happening. I glance at the back door, slightly relieved to see that it's closed.

Suddenly I hear a knob turn, followed by the sound of the front door opening.

Why…why did I leave the door unlocked?!

I drop to the floor and crawl behind the bar, trying to squeeze into as small a ball as I can. I'm able to fit between my chair and the wall, and I wrap an arm around my legs for extra measures. Footsteps come quickly towards the kitchen, and I feel as though my heart's going to beat out of my chest.

The footsteps reach the kitchen, and I can hear someone, probably male, mumbling to himself. Soon chairs are moving across the floor, and the guy begins pacing around the room. This goes on for a few more minutes, until finally I hear something shoved across the floor. What I believe is my table hits the wall, and I cringe at the bang that sounds when it makes contact with the wall. I squeeze my eyes shut, just willing him to give up and leave.

More chairs are shoved across the floor, one of which I assume is flipped, and I hear cushions and plates clatter.

"Dammit! Where is it?!" I hear him swear angrily. My eyes snap open and I can picture the gun from last night. Oh, why did I hide it? Why didn't I leave it out? He's silent for a few seconds, and then, he laughs a little.

"One plate of spaghetti; I _wonder_ who that belongs to." I can hear the smile in his voice, and my eyes grow wide. He knows I'm here. Why didn't I think to move it?!

"One plate, one worm." He mumbles. His slow and heavy foots steps come towards me. "Little worm…come out come out wherever you are…" He says playfully. My heart thuds in my chest, and I'm scared that he can actually hear it. The footsteps approach the bar, and this time I feel like it's about to beat out of my chest.

It only thuds louder when I see him walk past the bar. His back is to me, and he's looking towards the sun room. It's a miracle that he didn't see me; maybe I can sneak away and hide.

I sit there for a few more seconds, and then, before I can change my mind, I slowly get up. My host's body is incredibly small, so I am able to stand up and walk around with barely making a sound.

I slowly start backing away, keeping my eyes trained on him the whole time. Strangely though, he doesn't seem to be moving.

"You should probably take down that mirror; it's a pain in the ass for sneaking away." He says, eerily calm. I freeze and slowly look upwards where, to my horror, a mirror is hanging above the doorframe leading to the sunroom. I'm clearly reflected in it, my large silver eyes locking with his blue ones, and I feel my heart drop.

I spin around and start running out of the kitchen, but I can hear his feet slamming loudly against the floor after me. My host's body isn't made for running, which is why I only make it to the hallway when a heavy weight it suddenly on my back, and I'm tackled from behind. I'm push down on the ground, my chin slammed against the tile. The force of his body knocks the breath out of my lungs, and I begin coughing.

Faster than I can follow, he has me standing up and against his chest, his forearm wrapped around my throat. He puIls it around me, effectively shrinking my throat to half its size. I must be shorter than him, because while my head is even with his shoulder, my feet are off the ground a few inches.

It feels like the life is being sucked out of me; I can barely breathe out, much less breath in.

"Please…stop." I manage to choke out. I bring my fingers up and try to pull his arm down, but it's wrapped like a vise around me.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere; not before you tell me where my rifle is."

I can barely breathe, let alone tell him where it is. I swing my legs out, on an attempt to throw him off balance, but all he does is pull tighter. I can barely hear him chuckle over the sound of my blood pumping in my ears.

Finally, when black spots begin to appear around the room, his arm is gone and I'm quickly falling towards the ground. I land in a heap on the floor, the air going through my lungs almost painful. I soon double over and begin to cough, grabbing for my throat in an attempt to make it stop. The whole time he just stands over me in silence, watching me with a small smirk.

"Well worm? Where is it?" He says as he takes a few steps closer. He leans down, so our faces are only about two feet apart. We're close enough that I can see the lighter blue around his pupils, which are currently growing smaller. I don't say anything, my eyes stuck on his blue ones. I've never seen any other colored eyes besides the silver of the souls, but these are the least bit calm.

All of a sudden the blue turns an icy color, and he reaches down, grabs the collar of my shirt and lifts me straight into the air in front of him.

"Where. Is it." He calmly demands more than asks. I cringe at his voice, and glance over at the chest. Slowly he sees me and his eyes follow mine, and suddenly the pressure is gone against my neck and I'm lying on the ground again.

He stalks over and nearly rips the lid off of the chest, pulling it open so fast that it slams against the wall behind it. He pulls out the "rifle"and begins to look it up and down, examining for something; I guess he's seeing if I messed with it.

Suddenly there's footsteps at the door, and a girl appears in the doorway. Long brown hair cascades down her shoulders, and her expression reads that she is irritated, but she somehow seems nicer than the blue-eyed guy.

"What is taking you so dam long?!" She bursts out. Oh, there's the hostility. I look over to the guy, who is currently looking into the rifle somehow.

"It shot my gun." He states. He slams it closed with an audible snap, and turns to glare down at me with such hatred that I'm forced to look away.

Its then that the girl notices me, and her hazel eyes widen a fraction of an inch; she looks at the other guy, then to me, taking in my appearance. She looks at me like I'm not a threat, making me feel smaller than I already am, and then looks back at him.

"I swear to god Kyle, I _told _you that if we came back something would be here! But no, you just had to have your stupid little gun!" She scolds him. Kyle (I assume) just rolls his eyes and continues looking at his rifle.

"Chill, Melanie; I've got it under control." "Melanie" raises her eyebrows and crosses her arms.

"Oh really; then what are you planning on doing about _it_?" She doesn't glance at me, but I assume I'm the it. I look down at the floor, my cheeks growing warm.

"I'm just going to shoot it." He replies calmly. My stomach drops, and I feel my pulse hammering.

"You idiot, we can't shoot it!" Maybe she isn't so hostile after all. "This road would be gated off for god knows how long! How are we going to get supplies then, huh?" She says, clearly irritated. Well, never mind then.

"Well then let's just take it out to the desert and shoot it there." He says, sounding more irritated then her. Melanie sits still for a second, thinking it over, and I slowly start to scoot backwards.

"No, they'd find the body… maybe we should just bring it to Jeb, see what he says." She finally says. Kyle scratches at the back of his head, but soon just nods.

"Fine. Let's just go then." At this point they glance down at me, and I finally realize what's about happen.

"No, wait, you don't have to take me anywhere." I start scrambling backwards. "I won't say anything about this to anyone." I say defensively, but at the moment I'm so on edge that to just comes out as squeaky instead of strong.

Kyle snorts. "Yea, that's not going to happen." Melanie says. Suddenly there's a hand on my arm, and I'm being pulled to my feet and out the front door.

"Wait! Stop! You can't do this! Let me go!" I yell. I grab onto the nearest thing, which just happens to be the door frame of my front door, and try to hang on.

Unfortunately, because this body is so small, it only takes one strong pull from Melanie to unhinge me from it.

"Shut up! You're lucky we're not doing anything worse." She snarls. The idea of worse scares me, so I shut my mouth and don't say anything.

Outside, right in front of my house, is an old truck with some kind of dusty tarp over the back. In fact, the whole truck is covered in dust, and I have a sneaking suspicion where it came from. I'm dragged over to it, but Melanie stops me at the back.

She nods to something behind me, and I whirl around just in time to see Kyle's head tilt to the side and suddenly a sharp pain explodes on the side of my head. I'm quickly falling, and everything goes black when I hit the ground.

**Well. That was long. I hope you liked it, dear reader. I'm sorry if it's not exactly like Wanda, I hope it was. I'm also hoping that I didn't bring this part up too early, but I didn't just want to give a filler chapter of Wanda doing regular, soul stuff. Please review, favorite, or follow!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, my lovely readers! Thank you for returning to the story. I hope this chapter is ok, and I know a part might seem out of character, but just ignore it. There's a reason behind it. If you want to ask me about it, you can write it in a review. If anyone asks, I'll explain it in the next chapter.**

**Chapter 3**

Two things pop into my mind when the fog in my head clears. The first thing is that something is bumping beneath me. Well, not actually bumping, but kind of rocking. My light body rolls back and forth, pulling my weight from shoulder to shoulder. Suddenly there's a drop, and my body pops into the air and then back down again, smashing the side of my face against what I now realize is wood. I must be on someone's floor.

The second thing that comes to my mind is the dull throbbing on the side of my head. The whole side of my head is warm, or warm_er_ I should say, considering that my whole body is filled with stifling heat, and I feel something on my cheek. It's a weird, crusty feeling, which I can't pinpoint. I soon discover that it comes off slightly if I rub my cheek against the wood floor, but it only makes the throbbing hurt worse so I stop almost immediately. I reach up from behind me to try and soothe the throbbing.

Well, I tried to; when I pull at my arm something pulls back. Confused, I pull harder, only to be met with resistance. I pull harder, and I'm suddenly aware of something plastic digging sharply into my wrists, securing them together and nearly preventing me from bending my arms.

I begin to panic, and soon the sound of my ragged breathing fills the dim space around me. I try to pull my wrists apart, but the only result of that is a pain shooting up my arm. I'm gasping and breathing heavier, and suddenly there doesn't seem to be enough air in the small room.

Where am I? Wh-what happened?

Wherever I am is dark and cramped; not pitch dark, because I can see slivers of sunlight on the floor, but still pretty dim that I can't see more than a foot in front of me. The floor is ruff, with something scratching my bare legs at all times; it almost feels like little rocks. Maybe it's sand.

Splinters of ice pin my joints in place as I remember the humans, Kyle and Melanie, the gun and the crunching sound I heard when my head hit the edge of their truck. Did I fall? I don't remember falling, but o do remember something on my head right before the world turned sideways. But what was it….I shiver as I realize that one of them must have pushed me. The only question was who.

I lay my cheek on the sandy floor, welcoming the sudden coolness in the stuffy truck bed(?). My shoulders slump down when I finally accept what has happened; the humans have stolen me from my home, and I have no idea where they're taking me. The person (I think his name was Jeb) will probably just kill me anyways; kill me and this host. I'm a prisoner with them, unable to do anything.

Before I can stop it a choked sob escapes my throat, and I quickly squeeze my eyes shut. This body doesn't deal well with fear, and there's little I can about it. The least I can do now is try to prevent myself from crying. I clamp my lips shut, cutting off any more sobs that were on their way. I sit in silence, the only noise being the scratching that of tires on road beneath me. I slowly sway back and forth again, occasionally rolling back over my arms.

It's in this silence that I begin to hear the distant mumbling of someone talking. I lift my head off the floor and blindly look towards the source, which happens to be off to my left. I try scoot towards it, navigating by whether the sound gets louder or softer, such as the time I spent on the planet of the dolphins. This doesn't help though, because all I manage to do is fall back onto the sandy floor; it's amazing how much a person needs their arms, even with such little movements like scooting.

I end up doing a half-crawl, with my side slowly moving while my legs push against whatever else is in here with me; it almost feels like boxes. The side of my head suddenly hits something hard, and I cringe, again making the mistake of trying to reach up to hold it. Fear spikes in my heart again, but I choose to ignore it while trying to sit up.

I'm almost certain that this is the wall separating the back of the truck from the front; there's no box in the world that could be this hard.

I press my ear against it, trying to distinguish what they're saying.

"….going to kill you." I faintly hear the girl, Melanie, say. Someone makes a weird sound, and it takes me a minute to realize that it was a snort.

"I can handle your little boyfriend." The guy, Kyle, says. There's a thumping sound, and then I hear someone groan.

"Hey chill!" I hear him snap at her. Did she hit him?

"Well don't refer to him as my "little boyfriend"; you and I both know he would cream you if it came down to it." She says back. I can't tell if she's being serious or joking with him, but I hope she's joking. The thought of two people fighting each other until one can't anymore seems terrible and violent to me.

"You wanna bet? I could beat both of you with my eyes closed." He grumbles.

"Watch your mouth O'Shea, before you end up paying for it." She warns coldly; the threat in her voice makes me feel uneasy even back here, and I can't imagine hearing it from her face-to-face.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." He replies. There's a pause, and it stays silent for so long that I begin to wonder if they've stop talking for now.

"I'm just warning you now; when we get back there and they find it in the back of the truck, Jared _will_ get mad, let alone what all the others are going to do." Oh, so they are still talking. My heart hurts at them calling me it.

"I know that, but-"

"And don't think for one _second _that if you go down I'm going with you. _You _left the gun, _you _had to go back and get it, and _you _just couldn't help yourself and had to come during the daytime." She interrupts him.

"Ouch, that hurt." He says sarcastically. He sounds suddenly tired, as if he's heard this all before. How long have I been here? "And anyways, it was Jared who made me put it down and help in the first place; not me. So if you're blaming anyone blame him."

"He didn't tell you to put it down, he told you to help pack up. If you put it down during a raid, that was _your_ dumbass decision."

"Well if it wasn't for that "dumbass decision" we would have never found all those cans of food. Or this pepperoni." He says simply. I can hear crinkling plastic, and then there's another pause, and even I, knowing her for probably about 5 minutes, can tell that Melanie's about to blow.

"Let me get this straight. You risked our raid, our lives, not to even mention the lives of everyone else, for a ROLL OF PEPPERONI!?" She yells at him. There's another silence, and I hear another thump, this one louder than the first.

"You idiot; I don't even know why Jeb lets you come in the first place." She mumbles angrily.

"First of all, Jeb doesn't let me come. I just come. And I come become because I get stuff done."

"You get _nothing_ done! The only thing you accomplish is bashing someone's head in when we're discovered, something that would have never happened if you had just kept track of your gun!" She finishes yelling. It amazes me how much anger one person can have about something so simple as forgetting an object.

"I'm just going to say this once, so listen good. If anything happens, anything at all, to Jamie, you're going to be the first I'm coming for. " She sounds angry, but I can hear something underneath the threat. The emotion sounds so out of place for her that I don't register it as fear until a heavy silence falls between them.

I suddenly feel out of place, and I realize what I'm doing. I slowly pull my ear off the wall. I have no idea who Jamie is, but whoever they are, Melanie's scared that I'll hurt him. My heart tugs, but then I remember the "bashing in part", and connect that to the pain at the back of my head.

Their voices grow quiet, keeping me from hearing them, but I don't mind; I don't want to listen anymore anyways.

What do I do? What should I feel? Melanie's voice sounds like she truly fears me, but I don't want anyone to be afraid of me. Should I? Of all the people I would want to be afraid of me, shouldn't humans be at the top of the list?

"Oh _shit_!" Melanie yells from the front. There's a slight skidding sound, and suddenly I'm thrust towards the wall again. My arms and legs slide against the sandy floor and my forehead slams against the wall. A small star bursts behind my eye and I sit there for a second, trying to process what's happening.

"Did you see…" She trails off. Her voice is now almost a whisper, and I know that if my head weren't against it right now, I wouldn't have been able to hear her through the wall. "Maybe it didn't see us." I don't know who the "it" is, but I have a distinct feeling that it's a soul.

"It's following us." She sounds panicked, and I hear a distinct click cut through the air. I jump a little at the sound, imagining Kyle clicking his gun.

"No." She says quickly. "You shoot at them, they'll come after us for sure." She pauses. Ok, I was right. "It's signaling us over; just…just let me handle this." Her voice shakes very slightly, but overall she sounds brave.

The truck lurches to the right, scooting me into a small stack of boxes. The truck becomes silent, minus the sound of tire on road from behind us. I hear a car door slam, and then footsteps. They slowly pass me, and then stop at what I believe is the driver's seat of the car.

Someone clears their throat. "Have a problem miss?" A new, male voice says. "I noticed that you were going was too fast for safety." The calmness gives him away as a soul, and the authority in it makes me thing that he's a seeker. I feel like I should be excited, but for some reason I don't feel as much of relief as I thought I would.

"Oh. I didn't realize I was." She answers. Her voice is clipped at the end, but other than that it sounds believable. Silence follows, and I can feel the tension, even back her.

"What's your name miss?"

She hesitates. "Oh, um, I'm…" Oh no; she doesn't know a soul's name.

Melanie fumbles a little more, and I become uneasy with each second that ticks by.

"Well, what is it?" He asks again, this time with traces of suspicion lying in it. He's going to figure out they're not human; but if he figures out they're not human, then they'll shoot him. No, they can't shoot him; they can't kill him. I won't let them.

Without thinking, I abruptly bash my shoulder into one of the walls. It makes a loud, hollow smashing sound. It echoes through the small space, and I pray that it can be heard from outside. Maybe if I can direct their attention away from Melanie, they won't shoot the seeker.

"What was that?" The seeker says.

There's a pause, and I smile at having caught her off guard. "Oh, I have boxes back there; one of them must have fallen." Melanie says. Well, she recovers quickly.

"Ok; do you mind if I check the back of your vehicle?" He says, not fully believing her. I stiffen; I didn't think they would check back here. Seekers rarely ever check anyone's belongings that I didn't even consider that he might check to see what the noise was.

Melanie hesitates. "Oh, um, no I don't mind. Can I ask why?" She says. _She's buying time_ something in the back of my mind says. A wrong choice if you ask me; a soul would never question the motives of a seeker.

"Just to ensure your safety; I apologize for any inconvenience it may cause you." He says, sounding a little taken back.

"Oh. No inconvenience." Melanie's voice becomes small, and after a pause I hear her slowly step out of the truck. Two sets of footsteps walk by me, followed by a nearly-silent third set on my other side. I frantically scoot across the floor, blindly reaching in front of me to make sure that some boxes are sitting in front of me. Just in case.

There's a sound of metal on metal across the space, and I see something roll upwards at the end of the room. A soft, orange glow fills the small area, and I peak my head around the boxes to get a glimpse of Melanie and a seeker standing at the opening, Kyle standing behind both of them. Wow, I must not have been asleep long; it's probably only about 8:00.

I notice Melanie's head, eyes covered with dark black sunglasses, quickly look down to an empty space near the opening. Her face remains over all impassive, but I can see her turning her head ever so slightly, no doubt scanning the rest of the floor. Thankfully, she doesn't see me.

She turns sharply towards Kyle, who has his long gun out and pointed towards the ground, not paying attention to anything other than the seeker.

The seeker, a short man dressed in black, begins sweeping his bright silver eyes around the space. In the light I can now verify what I thought, that the wooden floor was coated in sand, and that dozens of boxes surround me.

I glance back at Melanie, who is now looking up and down the road. Is she checking for more? After doing this a few times she turns back to Kyle and whispers something in his ear. He nods, looking up and down the road like Melanie had a few seconds ago. What are they planning?

Kyle, in one quick movement, raises the gun up so that it's sitting against his shoulder, aimed at the seeker. A feeling of dread runs through me as I realize what's about to happen.

"Stop!" I try to yell, but it instead comes out as a high pitched squeak. I attempt to jump into a standing position behind the boxes, but, thanks to my lack of arm movement, I'm thrown off balance and instead stand up just to fall backwards into the wall behind me. Thankfully I don't fall to the floor, so I I'm able to slowly push myself against it until I'm standing straight.

Kyle's gaze shifts from the seeker to me, and the gun tilts downwards slightly. Melanie looks sharply at me, and I'm unable to read the look on her face. Anger? Surprise?

In the same instance I see the seeker turn sharply around, pulling a small silver object out of what appears to be nowhere. He throws his arm out and smacks it against Kyle, knocking the rifle to the ground. He must have been waiting to catch them off guard.

"Step away from the weapon, I don't want to hurt you." He says calmly, pointing the object at Kyle, while keeping his body slightly turned to watch Melanie. I gasp, finally realizing that the silver object is a gun.

"Is that a gun?! Why do you have that?" I direct the question to the seeker.

"In cases of emergencies, such as this one." He says without turning. Kyle smirks at him, refusing to move.

"You won't shoot." He says confidently, with an edge of anger against it. The seeker tilts his head slightly, as if questioning Kyle's statement. Quickly, faster than I can follow, the Seeker turns and points the gun towards Melanie. A loud _bang_ disrupts the silence on the road, and I emit a scream as she falls to the ground. I push myself against the wall behind me, willing it to swallow me up and get me away from this violence. He shot her; I can't believe he really shot her!

A small, almost silent scream rings through the air, followed by a series of curse words. The next second the gun is trained on Kyle again, and the seeker takes up the same position again, as if nothing had ever happened.

Kyle's eyes look down at Melanie, assessing the damage; it must be bad, because his jaw locks up before quickly glaring back at the seeker.

"I can and I will. I won't say it again; step away from the weapon. I only want to help you." He says. I watch him in horror, what slight relief I had at seeing him beginning to melt away.

"What are you _doing!?" _I yell. "You shot her! Why would you shoot her?!" I pretty much whisper. The seeker now turns to face me, and his silver eyes now look sinister.

"My young soul, do you realize that these are humans?" How did he know? "You must not have had long enough on this planet to know this, but they will kill you before you even knew what was happening. All you have to do is turn you back, and you and your host will perish." He states. Without meaning to I frown. I know he doesn't mean it in a bad way, but his words hurt me; he speaks to me as if I am a child, like I am nothing to him. A small whimper from Melanie fills the air, but other than that it is dead quiet.

He takes my silence as understanding and smiles at me. "See? It's going to be ok though; I have the situation under control." He says with confidence. My eyes glance behind him, just in time to see Kyle picking up his gun off the ground.

Another _bang_ rips through the air, and I scream as something red splatters into the air and onto the corner of the truck. The seeker falls limply to the ground, and my scream begins to fade before cutting out all together; I must have overused this body's vocal cords.

Kyle disregards the seeker, instead leaning over to what I assume is Melanie.

"Melanie? You good?" He says while trying to lift her to her feet.

"No; dam seeker shot me in the side." She groans from below. I watch as Kyle attempts to stand her up by pulling her arms in the air towards him, but Melanie just hisses in pain whenever she's turned up right. The few seconds that she is, I get a glimpse of a dark red circle covering the majority of the bottom of the grey shirt she's wearing. She's lost a lot of blood already; if they don't do something soon…

"Kyle, this isn't working." She says as he tries yet again to move her.

"Just…just put me in the back; I'll be fine." She says, this time quieter than usual. Kyle looks up, and after shooting me such a hard glare that I want to hide, leans down and wraps his arms under Melanie's body.

"Ok, on 3. 1, 2…" He lifts Melanie up as quickly as he can, and I try to ignore her cries of pain as he sets her down on the floor of my little room. He glares at me again, and begins to climb into the back and come towards me. Melanie's hand on his ankle stops him in his tracks.

"Don't; I can handle it, I'll be fine." Her voice is now light, and I worry that she won't make it to wherever we're headed.

Kyle notices too, and I see something flash across his face. He leans down and pulls something up, and to my utter horror, the body of the seeker is lying in his arms. He throws it in, right in front of the boxes, and I see his head lull to the side at a sickening angle. He then scoots Melanie a little farther towards the back.

I can't take my eyes off the body; I've never seen a dead body in person before, and it is something I hope I don't see again. The silver eyes, open and unseeing, stare at the ceiling while his mouth is open in a silent scream. My heart aches from looking at him, and I have fight the urge to throw up.

Kyle, however, seems fully unaffected by it. He pulls something down over the opening of the truck. Not all the way, and I assume this is because he wants it to be open enough that she'll be able to get fresh air.

I watch as his legs move away from the opening, and listen as he walks to the front of the truck, gets in and turns it on. The truck lurches as he begins to drive, and before long a cool breeze floats into the compartment. It blows my hair back, and I sigh as the stifling heat slowly leaves the small room.

**Ok, that's it! Confession time: This chapter was actually much longer (almost 7000 words) but I split it up into two so that no one got bored with having to read it for so long. So, this means I already pretty much have the next chapter written! YAY!****In other news,****I have finals coming up in the next few weeks, so I can't garuntee quick updates. I will update, don't get me wrong, but it won't be super quick. Sorry. But, a girl's gotta pass classes, you know.**

**Anyways, I would really appreciate it if you would review! Or follow, or favorite!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi people! Thank ya for tuning in again. Means a lot. I hope you enjoy this chapter, but if you don't, tell me why in a review.**

**Walker-98: I had never really thought about going into her host's life; it's a neat idea, and I might use it. If that's ok with you, that is.**

**Everyone else (literally everyone else that reviewed): Thanks for the reviews!**

**Ok, well, enjoy!**

**Chapter 4**

A groan from across the room turns my attention to Melanie. With her brown hair spread around her like a halo, she's lying against one of the walls, one hand lying against her side, another one lying flat on the ground. She stares blankly at the ceiling, her sunglasses sitting discarded on the floor beside her.

Her eyes are glazed over, staring at nothing, just like the seeker is. Was. I shiver at the thought of him. I can't let her die; not like him. If she dies, it will be all my fault. If I hadn't of made that noise, he wouldn't have come to investigate and she wouldn't have gotten shot. If she dies, it will have been me that killed her.

But I don't know how to help her; no souls have ever gotten shot that I know of, and even if they have I've never been around for it. I don't know much, but it looks like the blood loss is probably what's going to end up causing the most damage though; maybe if she covers it, she'll last until we get to where they were going.

Well, here goes nothing.

"You need to put pressure on it." I say. My voice comes out as a cracked whisper, but I know she heard me. Her eyes harden, but she continues to stare at the ceiling, clenching her teeth as if I had said nothing. Ok, let's try this again.

"You're losing a lot of blood, and you need to put something on it." I continue. She still acts as though I said nothing, so I begin to scoot over.

"Stop. Don't, get near me, and Don't. Touch me." She spits when I'm within a foots distance from her. I pause, and look at her side. The floor next to it is drenched in dark red, and the hand that's sitting against it is stained the same color.

"I couldn't if I wanted to, but I just-"

"I said don't. Touch. Me." She says, though it's not as forceful as before. Her jaw goes slightly slack, and I become suddenly aware that her head is lulling to the side ever so slightly.

"If you don't put something on it…you might die." I say, trying to sound more forceful, but it just comes out sounding as a plea. She ignores me and continues staring at the ceiling. Ok, let me try something else.

"What about Jamie; would Jamie want you to just die?" I try again, recalling the name from her and Kyle's earlier conversation. This gets her attention, at least slightly, and she snaps her head to the side.

"Don't say his name; don't even think of it, or I swear god I'll kill you. You, and every last one of your one of your pathetic little species of worms." She spits at me. My eyes widen at the sudden change in energy. Ouch, that hurt. A lot. My heart aches, and I feel my lip start to tremble. I blink back tears, and bite my lip to hold it still.

Melanie's face softens slightly when she notices my face, but her eyes still remain murderous. After I don't say anything for a few minutes she leans back and stares back at the ceiling. I don't think of anything to say back to her, so she goes back to being quiet.

The truck must have it a hole, because suddenly the floor jumps up, and I'm thrown off balance and into the floor. Melanie pops into the air for a few seconds before falling back down on her back.

I hear her suck in a breath, and she arm travels quickly down to her side. I eye the scarlet spot beneath her fingers. That's it, I can't see her suffer anymore.

"I was serious about putting something on your side. I don't know where we're going, but wherever it is I believe you'll bleed out by the time we get there." I say, scooting closer.

"Shut up; I don't need advice from you. It's just a scratch." She says. No, definitely not a scratch. Worse than a scratch.

"That's definitely worse than a scratch." She turns and gives me a sour look.

"It's a joke." She says, rolling her eyes. She lets her hand fall to the floor, ignoring my warning. Slowly, a feeling starts to take over my body; a feeling that I rarely ever have. Anger. She's blatantly ignoring my advice! She's just going to let herself die!

"You need to put something on it, or you will die. What part of that do you not understand? Are you ok with that?! Are you ok with dying?! What is wrong with you!" I yell at her. I instantly clamp my mouth shut; I hadn't meant to yell at her. I've never yelled at anyone before. Well, never out of anger.

Melanie turns to me again, but the anger from before has faded slightly.

"I'm not ok with it, which is why I'm staying calm so that the blood doesn't pump faster! I'm fully aware of the fact that I need to cover it, but do you see anything in here? Do you see _anything_ to help me?! I don't think so! So shut up and leave me alone! She yells back. I flinch at her anger, and feel my own diminish completely.

To must have been a lot for her, because when she's done speaking her head flops back onto the ground, painfully if you ask me. I regret getting angry with her as soon as I see the look of pain flash across her face.

"Please, just let me help you." I beg.

"Yea, like I'd let _you_ help _me_. I'm not an idiot."

"I never said you were. I'm just saying you need help, and I'm the only one here at the moment." We stare at each other, and I can see her thinking it over.

"No." Or pretending to. No? How can she say no?

"No?"

"No." She says stubbornly. This isn't happening. How can this be happening? Why is she letting herself die?

Melanie just smirks at my reaction. All I can do is stare at her, my mouth hanging open in shock. What kind of person does this?! Do all humans do this?

"Ok, i-" I freeze, noticing that Melanie's eyes are now closed and her arms are laying limply beside her.

"Melanie?" She doesn't move, showing no sign of hearing me. "Melanie!" I scoot forward and hit her arm with my knee, and it's only after I do this repeatedly that her eyes finally open.

"What, what I'm ok. I'm fine." She says, glancing around quickly. No. she is definitely not ok.

"That's it; please cut my arms loose. You obviously can't be trusted to stop the bleeding yourself."

"You wish" She mutters.

"Yes, I do wish! Because you know what just happened? You started to fall asleep! You know what happens when you fall asleep in this condition!? You don't. Wake. Up." I yell. My voice becomes strained, and to my surprise, a little tear makes it's way down my cheek. Why am I crying?

It hits me what I'm doing; I'm caring for the person that kidnapped me. I'm crying because she could die. Why am I doing this? Again, why am I crying?

Melanie's face looks shocked at what I said, and I'm happy to see that she frowns and finally realizes how bad it's getting. Her jaw locks up and her expressions turns irritated. I don't know what kind of sign her silence is, but I hope it's a good one.

"Fine." Did I hear her right? Did she actually agree to let me help her?! Finally! She reaches slowly into the pocket of her shorts and produces a small wooden object. There's a tiny _click_, and a silver blade pops out of the wood. I jump back from it, eventually landing on my butt on the floor.

"Chill; I'm cutting you lose." She pauses and takes a breath. "Anything happens, the knife goes in you." She warns, waving the thing in my direction. My heart freezes, and all I can manage to do is stare at her and think over the threat. Not that I'm going to do anything. But would she really stab me just like that?

"Now turn around." Turn around? There's no way I'm putting my back to her with that object in her hand. My eyes grow wide and I stare at her. Melanie just twirls the knife, indicating me to turn.

I'm going to regret this, I know I am, but if I can't trust her than she can't trust me.

Before I can change my mind I find myself turning around, extending my arms out behind me. I hope she doesn't notice how much they're shaking.

There's a rustling, and my arms are pulled down. I pull them back up, and it's like a tug of war with my wrists. Melanie groans, and at the same time a snapping sounds rings in the air, and my wrists break apart. My hands snap outwards, one coming in contact with the floor while the other hits the wall beside us. I gasp and bring them in front of me, wincing at the little red rings that circle them.

I turn around and face Melanie to thank her, but frown as her arm falls back to floor, the small knife still clutched in her hand. I quickly reach over and bundle up a small corner of her T-shirt and then push it over the center of the giant blood spot. Melanie cusses, and her hand shoots out and encircles mine.

"Stop! That's worse!" She hisses at me. I try to ignore her, pushing her arm away from her side. I can't think of anything else that will help her, so we sit like this for a few minutes, and while I feel I've lessened the amount of blood loss, this really isn't much good for anything else.

The truck must have hit a rock or a hole just then, because one second we're sitting there, and the next Melanie's flying into the air and sliding out of the opening. I let out a small shriek as her body begins to fall, head first, out of the truck.

I latch onto her legs, grabbing both of her ankles in a desperate pull.

"Melanie, hold on!" I yell to her. My strength isn't the best, and I struggle with her dangling weight. There's nothing to grab onto, and so I soon find myself sliding along the floor with her. My stomach drops when I see the fast moving ground beneath us. It's long since gotten dark outside, so if we fall out, we'll be stranded. Kyle won't see us fall, and I'll die, she'll die, minus how much it would hurt to fall.

"Melanie!" I yell again, trying to snap her out of the dazed look that I see on her face. She glances at me and then to the upcoming ground, and I sigh in relief as she snaps back into reality. She quickly looks back at me and reaches an arm up to grab onto mine.

"Pull!" Suddenly the weight is lessened, and I look in time to see one of her legs pushing against the back bumper of the truck, raising her up a few inches. How she's doing this I have no idea, but I'm glad for the sudden miracle.

I pull her backwards, and, after a few tries and tons of strained muscles, I manage to push my feet against the almost-closed door and drag us both inside.

I lay on the ground, my head spinning, while Melanie coughs in the corner. Did that just happen? Or almost happen, I should say. One look at Melanie confirms that yes, we did almost just die, because she's leaning against a wall, coughing into her hand.

"How…" she coughs "do you know" she coughs again "my name?" She asks.

"I heard Kyle call you that earlier." I say. She nods, and I flinch at the sight of blood on her hand from coughing. Then, just to make me panic more, she begins laughing. I stare, wide eyed, at the sight of a smile on her face and a mix between a cough and a laugh sounding in the dusty room.

Why is she laughing? Was something funny? I didn't think anything was funny.

"Why…why are you laughing?" I question.

"You're helping me. We're supposed to hate each other," she coughs "and you're helping me." Is that funny? I don't find it as funny as Melanie, but I guess it is a little ironic though.

"You were going to fall, so I had to help." I point out. Melanie just shrugs, and I see a little bit of humor, but only in the fact that she's fully disregarding anything life-threatening that has happened.

"Why?" Why didn't I let her fall? Because…actually, I don't know. I have no idea why I helped her.

I just shrug at her, but she doesn't respond. WE sit in this silence for a while, until my breathing has gone nearly back to normal.

"Here." Melnie breaks the silence adn reaches blindly beside her and then throws something half-heartedly towards me. "Put those on." I hold up the object in confusion, until I realize that I'm holding her pair of sunglasses. It's dark outside, I don't need sunglasses. Why would she give them to me?

"Why? It's not light outside anymore."

"Because." Pause "We're almost there, and when we get there." Pause. "You're coming in. With us. They won't know you're a soul." I look at her, alarmed. How could she think that that would work? They would know. I don't want to deceive all of them. I now realize that we've decreased in speed from the almost certain going over the speed limit speed to just barely over the speed limit.

"It might be dark enough…without them…but still put them on."

"Melanie, I don't know-"

"Just put them on!" She snaps. Her sudden outburst anger surprises me, and I slip them on over my eyes. Well, now the room is even darker than before. I can't even see Melanie now.

"We're almost there. About five minutes." I look around, trying to distinguish between the boxes and Melanie.

"What's your name?" She asks out of the darkness. I hesitate; do I tell her my name? I don't see the harm in it, but something is preventing me from saying it outright. I don't know why, but I almost don't want her to know.

"Come on; you know mine." She points out. That's true. I look to where I believe she is.

"Wanderer."

"Oh. Nickname?" Nickname? What's a nickname? Somehow she must see my confusion.

"Another name for Wanderer." She explains. Oh; that's a nickname. What a strange word for a name.

"My friend calls me Wanda." I tell her hesitantly.

"Friend? As in one?" She says. I shrug, though I doubt she can see it.

"Yes, just one. I don't have many friends." I say. "I sometimes find all of the souls too nice. It can become boring." I clamp my mouth shut as Melanie laughs out loud. I instantly regret saying it; why did I say that? How could I talk bad of other souls? What is wrong with me?

"Well that's a first." She says. As she finishes talking, I realize that it is suddenly dead quiet; the engine is turned off.

"Here we go." She says, before coughing into her hand again.

I hear a door slam, and then a set of foots steps is running towards the front. They backtrack, and then they're right beside the truck.

"Where's Mel?" A male voice says, sounding very confused with slight panic beneath the confusion.

"In the back." I hear Kyle say. "Wait, before you go back there…just fair warning. A seeker stopped us, and shot her," He says. It's silent for a split second, and then there's a loud thump, followed by a stream of cuss words coming from Kyle.

Footsteps run towards the back, and I hear the sound of the door being raised.

"Mel!" He yells. I hear a scratching sound, and I can make out Melanie being dragged across the floor. At the last second she grabs my wrist, pulling me a long the floor with her.

"Are you ok? Where'd it get you?" He says, lifting Melanie's body into his arms. The force pulls me out of the truck and onto the ground, but this time I maintain my balance and am able to stand up straight.

"Chill, it just hit my side. S'not that bad." She murmurs, her head leaning against his shoulder.

"Like hell it's not." He glances up, finally noticing me. "Who are you?" He asks. He doesn't realize I'm a soul; maybe this can work after all. When I go to answer him though, I can't find my voice, and find I'm only capable of staring at him. He's tall, just like Kyle is, and I only come to slightly below his shoulder.

"My friend; she's coming with us." Melanie says, interrupting my thoughts. My heart swells at her calling me her friend; I find myself relieved and happy that she doesn't hate me.

The guy nods, and without warning takes off sprinting behind in the opposite direction. Melanie's grip jerks me forwards, and I find myself running behind them. I struggle to keep up with his fast pace, Melanie's hand around my wrist being the only thing allowing me to keep up. Actually, she's more dragging me that I am running.

"Come on Mel, stay with me." I hear him saying to her. Well, more to himself than to her.

"Shut up, I'm not going anywhere." Melanie replies. I can't see his whole face, but I can imagine the guy smiling down at her. I watch as he leans down and kisses her gently on the forehead; I blush and look away, feeling like I'm intruding on a private moment between them. I don't want to be rude and spy on them in this moment of reuniting.

I take this time to look around. We're now out of the desert and into some kind of cave, it looks like. The walls and ceilings are made of some type of brown rock, and the "floor" is just a long row of sand that stretches out in front of us. I guess that explains all the sand on the floor of the truck. We would be running in darkness if it weren't for the few lights here and there. We're running too fast for me to be able to tell the actual source of the light though. The darkness only adds to my feelings of invading their home.

There's no way anyone is going to believe us. Me. I was already unsure of this, and now I know for a fact that I'm going to be busted. No one wears sunglasses in this kind of place.

I'm pulled back into reality as my lungs begin to burn. We've been running for a few minutes now at top speed, well, my top speed, probably a light jog for the super human that is this guy, and I don't know how much more this body can take. Melanie's grip remains fast on my arm, so slowing down isn't really an option. It only takes one look at the guy holding her to know that him slowing down isn't even remotely an option.

Even in the dim light I can see the muscles rippling on his back through the T-shirt he's wearing as he runs through the tunnels. Someone with that amount of upper body strength must have at least double the lower body strength.

My breathing hitches as we run around corner after corner. This place is beginning to feel like a maze; a maze made of rocks, but the really scary thing is is that we haven't seen anyone else. Melanie made it sound like there were tons of people here, yet we haven't seen a single person. Not that I'm complaining, but it's making me uneasy. What if they're all waiting to ambush me at the end of the tunnels? What if this was all some trick?

I'm struggling to keep up at this point, and I know I'm slowing them down. I attempt to separate Melanie's hand from my wrist, so that they can hurry and get to wherever they're going, hopefully a doctor, but I fail to and stumble across the floor after them.

Finally, when I feel I can't take anymore and am about to pass out there's a light at the end of the tunnel (literally) and I find myself standing in a well-lit room lined with black, foam slim beds. Small, metal tables are scattered across the room, and small cabinet-like spaces line the walls with various small bottles and instruments in them.

The whole room has a doctor's office feeling, and apparently that's what it is because the guy immediately begins yelling for someone named Doc when we approach one of the beds. I faintly hear a set of footsteps behind us, but I don't turn around to look.

The guy gently lays Melanie down on one, and I notice that one of his arms has a little trail of blood on them. In the light I can really look at him. With his tan skin and honey-colored eyes, I wouldn't easily mistake him for a soul.

His hair is mainly brown, but with sun-bleached streaks going through it in certain places. I look back at his eyes again, which were currently filled with such worry that it made my heart ache just looking at them. The pure anger also in those eyes throws me off a little, but I try to ignore that part.

I look away just as a tall man comes in wearing what use to be a dusty white lab coat. I freeze in place as he comes over to us, and it feels like Melanie's hand is the only thing keeping me from running from the room. He comes to stand beside us, and his brown eyes glance over at me. I suck in a breath, and only let it out when he turns from me to the very pale Melanie below us. Out of the corner of my eye I see two more people come into the room, which puts me even more on edge.

"What happened?" "Doc" asks. His voice is deep, and I flinch when he talks.

"Kyle said some seeker stopped them and shot her; in the side I'm assuming." The guy says through clenched teeth. Doc nods and slowly lifts the edge of her shirt up. Melanie hisses in pain as the fabric sticks to the dried blood on her skin. The sound makes me jump, and I wonder why he is doing this. It only seems to hurt her more. He tries to pull it off, but the shirt remains stuck to her.

"Jared, you might want to step out a second." Doc informs the guy. He just shakes his head and remains firmly by Melanie's side. "I'm not leaving." Doc just shrugs in a "do what you want" gesture.

"Hold on Melanie, this is going to hurt for a second." Doc warns. Hurt? What's going to hurt?

My question's answered when the man grips the shirt in one hand and pushes Melanie down against the bed with another. A loud ripping sound fills the air, and Melanie emits a small scream. Jared stiffens immensely beside me, and I note that his hand is now in a fist.

This little note cuts me out of my shock, and a huge confusion takes over my body.

"What are you_doing_?! You're hurting her more!" I yell at him, trying to smack his hands away from her. He looks up at me in concern.

"I'm not intentionally hurting her-" His voice fades away as I catch sight of her side. The shirt corner is gone, but underneath, her whole side is bloody. The shirt must have pulled some of her skin off, because it almost resembles a slab of meat.

"Look what you did!" I yell. MY eyes remain glued to her side, unable to look away. I walk around step between Doc and Melanie, who has glassy eyes and is currently biting her lip. Why isn't she running? Why isn't she scared of them? Everyone in the room, 5 people minus Melanie and I, looks at me with confusion.

"I'm not trying to hurt her, I'm only trying to help her." Doc says calmly. His voice is like ice in my head, and the longer I look at him the more sinister he becomes.

"No, no you're not. Get away from her." I say, trying to sound calm, but it just comes out sounding panicked. I look around at all the faces, all the different colored eyes, and start to shake a little. Brown, blue, green, hazel; but no silver. For the first time since I've left my house, I realize how alone I really am. How everyone in this room wouldn't bat an eye at killing me. I'm on my own. This revelation only adds to my panic; I feel like they're closing in on me.

Suddenly a pair of giant arms encircle my waist, and I'm being lifted off the ground and out from in front of Melanie. No…no, it's happening again, just like with Kyle. They're going to hurt me, and then they're going to hurt Melanie.

"Stop! Let me go, put me down!" I yell, kicking behind me and smacking at the arms that are holding me. My struggles do nothing, and it's as if I'm hitting a boulder. Why did I have to get such a small, weak body?

"What's wrong with her?" Someone says.

"I think she's having an attack. Doc, what do we do?" I hear another voice say.

"Hold her still." A voice I can only identify as Doc says. Hold me still; yes, they're going to do something. They're probably going to kill me.

"No! Stop! You can't do this!" I yell out desperately. I try to turn my body to slip away, but the arms around my waist only tighten, crushing me to their chest. I push the arms down, trying to get them away, but at Doc's orders they don't move.

There's a small prick in my arm, and suddenly all of my muscles slowly begin to feel like they've turned into jello. My struggles begin to lack the effort they had when they started. My head is so heavy; I just want to lie down. I rest my head against something flat behind me; a shoulder maybe. The edges of my vision become fuzzy, and I can faintly feel myself being lowered down. My back hits the hard foam of one of the beds, and I can't feel my arms to even try to push myself upwards.

I can see different faces looking down at me, and one that's looking to the side. Melanie. She gives me a smile of reassurance, and her hand raises high enough to give me a thumbs up, as if saying that she was ok, before falling back down on the bed.

Well, there's not much I would be able to do anyways. I want to smile at her, but I can't feel my face. It's a funny though actually, the fact that I can't even feel my own body. I laugh at the thought, a small, high pitched giggle. I must look insane right now; laughing at a time like this.

I'm aware of someone taking off my sunglasses, just as the darkness envelopes me and I close my eyes.

**Ok, well….i hope you liked it. REALLY hoped you guys liked that chapter. If there was anything you didn't like, as I said above, write it in a review for me. Oh, and thank you for the good luck on finals, those who said something; means a lot.**

**Ok, well, until next chapter then! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Helllooo people of the fandom. Wow, it's been a while. While I would blame this on the fact I wasn't home for three weeks straight and without my laptop for those three weeks, the main reason I haven't been back was writers block. The bain of my existence as an author. So, in a weak attempt to make up for it, here's a super long chapter. So long in fact I considered making two chapters instead of one, but then decided you guys deserve it. So, enjoy!**

**Oh, and before I forget… LiveLaughLoveAndStayYOU: Oh my gosh, I got your review the other day, and that was what pulled me out of my funk, so I have you to thank for that, lovely reviewer. Thank you so much, and as a lesson for others, this proves that reviews really do matter. Because this person's review actually pulled me back into the story. Thank you (username really long stated above)**

**Chapter 5**

My shoulder is shaking. It's the only thing I can feel at the moment, and I don't know how it's happening, but my shoulder is shaking.

"Wanderer; Wanda. Whatever your name is. You need to wake up _now._" A voice says, penetrating the foggy darkness. How ironic; this is the second time today that I've woken up just to be stuck in a dark fog. I hope it's the last.

"Wanda, don't make me smack you." The voice warns. My heart spikes at the threat, and I realize that it's Melanie. I'm now aware of hard foam below me, and the images of the brightly lit room and Doc slowly leak into my memory. Doc. He must have given me something to put me to sleep.

Wait, why does Melanie sound panicked? Is Doc back!? No, no he can't be back. I can't handle that again. I don't know why he didn't kill me when he could have; what if he's back to finish the job? No!

My eyes shoot open, and I jerk into a sitting position on the seat, almost smacking my head against Melanie's surprised one in the process. Luckily she pulls back just in time, and I narrowly miss her.

"Woah, chill, I wasn't really going to hit you." She says, laughing a little. I look over at her, and sigh in relief at the sight of her not-so-pale face. She's changed into a pair of cargo shorts and a dark grey tank top. Hmm, I don't see any sign of her injuries, which is really weird; I know that our medicine works good, but I didn't know they worked _that _good. No, wait a minute. I finish my assessment by locking on a huge white bandage that's been placed on her forehead, almost touching her eyebrow; other than that she looks good for someone that almost died.

"You're ok!" I yell excitedly; she's more than ok, she's just like before! I reach over and hug her, but instead of hugging me back she hisses in pain. Was my hug that bad? I quickly pull back and stick my arms to my sides.

"Well, almost." She pulls up her shirt slightly, revealing what looks like a skin colored tape that's wrapped several times around her stomach. There's a small bulge in the space where I remember there being the most blood. How strange; the medicine we souls use should have cleared up anything that remained of the wound. I glance back up at the bandage on her forehead, then back to her stomach. Maybe Melanie's is so severe that they need extra healing?

I'm so wrapped in my thoughts that I don't realize that Melanie has been talking. I look back up at her. "Doc didn't see any bullet; he thinks that it skimmed me and shot right through my side. I'm supposed to wear this for the next few weeks though, which sucks." I flinch when she says Doc, but I don't think she notices. "Though between you and me, it'll probably only be on for a week." She's taking it off before she's supposed to?! I open my mouth to object, but then think better of it and ask her something else instead.

"How long was I asleep?" I ask, rubbing the spot that I felt the prick at the mention of Doc.

"About an hour, hour and a half. It was crazy; you were screaming and yelling at Doc and everyone. He gave you some stuff to try to calm you done, but I don't think he realized just how small you actually were. I think he accidently gave you too much." Yes, I'm sure it was an accident. I think bitterly.

Wait, why did I say that? That was really rude; I don't know where that came from.

I choose to try and ignore my comment, and instead glance around the room, finally realizing that it's empty. Well, empty except for us.

"Where did everyone go?"

"Oh, I cleared them out about 10 minutes after Doc wrapped me up. Jared's been here, but he left a few a little bit ago to get food, so he'll be back any minute. Which is why we need to think of a plan." Plan? For what?  
"No one saw your eyes, but it's only a matter of time before someone does." She says seriously. Oh; that plan. Wait, no one noticed?

"How did no one notice? I thought someone took off the sunglasses." Maybe I thought wrong.

"Yea, they did, but you had already closed your eyes by the time they were off. Doc tried to open them and check them when you didn't wake up after a while, but I told him that your eyes were really messed up and really sensitive to light." Sensitive? I can't believe how easy it is for her to lie and have someone believe it, even an absurd one like that.

"He's not stupid though, and he'll want to see you soon." A shiver went down my spine at the mention of Doc wanting to see me. Them another thought occurred.

"Wait, what about Kyle?"

"Oh, well, about that…" She trails off and looks over to her right, where another bed lays. This one is accompanied though, and I wonder how I could have missed it before. This time, when I look over at it, I realize that a body is laying on it. Kyle's body. His eyes are scrunched up and his dark hair is coated in sand, making it stick up at wild angles around his head.

"What happened to him? Why is he sleeping here?"

"Well, he's not exactly sleeping." Not sleeping? Than what is he doing? "Jared went looking for him while Doc was patching me up and asked him exactly what happened when I got shot. Apparently he got really mad when Kyle told him that the gun got knocked away, and Jared punched him into a wall. He's been out cold ever since." I stare at Kyle in horror. How could someone do that? I can't imagine that much anger, let alone enough to punch a person into a wall and then out cold.

"Why would he do that?!" Melanie shrugs.

"I guess he just got really mad; but that doesn't matter. What matters is that we have to figure something out before he wakes up. Because when he does, all hell is going to break loose." She says, looking around.

"Ok, so, we can't just tell everyone; that wouldn't end well." She says, propping her arm up on her leg as she leans on her hand, her eyes scrunched together in thought; her finer begins unconsciously tapping on her chin. I don't disturb her, instead opting to look down at my feet. I realize that I look so out of place here. With my bright red shirt and clean, if not slightly sandy jean short, I'm probably the only pop of color the other people have seen in a while.

"I guess we can just wait and talk to Jeb like we were going to." Melanie says, interrupting my thoughts.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I blurt out before I can stop it. A look of surprise comes across Melanie's face.

"Oh, you don't have to answer that. I'm sor-" She puts her hand up to stop me.

"No it's ok; I don't know, actually..." She looks me over. "You just seem _different_ than the other ones; not evil." I flinch at the word evil. "Sorry, but they _have_ taken over Earth pretty much." She adds on, noticing my discomfort.

My heart pulls, and I look at Melanie, expecting sadness, but she instead looks angry. I feel bad for her, and I suddenly realize how much she lost. I also then imagine all the good we souls have done for this world, and how bad it was before, but it still doesn't help me shake the feeling.

"Melanie, I'm so -" I freeze as the sound of footsteps begins echoing off the cave walls. Melanie hears it too, and her expression becomes panicked, the anger from before hiding away, and she reaches beside her to where my discarded sunglasses sit. She tosses them to me, and I clumsily catch them before they fall to the floor.

"Hurry, put them on, I think that's Jared." I hastily put them on, just having covered my eyes when "Jared's" face comes into view in the opening of the tunnel, holding a bowl of what looks like tomato soup. Melanie makes a face when she sees it, but he just shrugs.

"Sorry, we haven't unpacked all the boxes yet; it's all we've got at the moment." He says, sounding a little apologetic.

"Mmhhmm." Melanie says, giving him a look that says she clearly doesn't believe him. Her words are followed by a loud slurping sound as she begins drinking the soup straight from the bowl. I cringe at the sight of the bowl turned upwards. Do they not have any spoons here?

I look over at "Jared". His honey eyes are focused intently on Melanie, but try as I might I can't read them or figure out what he's feeling. It's a popular saying in my town that eyes are the window to the soul, but thus Jared is an absolute exception to the phrase.

Suddenly Jared tears his gaze away from Melanie and looks over at me. I blush and look away in embarrassment of having been caught staring at him. After a few seconds I look back, and his time I can actually see something in his eyes, but it's only suspicion. I wonder if Melanie said anything about me to him. I doubt she has; if she did he probably wouldn't be looking at me with such scrutiny.

I break away from his gaze to look down at my feet, flinching as I notice the light red stain on his knuckles as my eyes go to the floor. So it's true then; he must have actually punched Kyle into unconsciousness. That means that that's Kyle's blood is on his hands. Literally.

I look away as Melanie drops the empty soup bowl beside, a thin red line above her lip. I can't help but stare at it, and Melanie notices instantly.

"What is it, what's wrong?" She asks, turning to Jared. Jared just smiles and laughs a little at her.

"You've got a little something." He leans over and kisses her on the lips. What a weird way to wipe away the soup; well, whatever he thinks will get it. I expect him to pull back, but to my surprise, they continue kissing, and Melanie's hands travel over his shoulders to tangles her fingers in his hair. Um, wow, this is awkward.

I shift uncomfortably and quickly look away, my cheeks burning in embarrassment at having watched them, but before I can totally take my eyes off of them, Jared brings Melanie's legs up around his waist.

Oh _wow. _They must have really missed each other. I feel my eyes bug out and my cheeks become even hotter, if that possible. I try to focus on the wall instead of the couple sitting a few feet away; should I leave? I don't think they realize I'm in here, or even the fact that they're sitting the middle of a makeshift doctor's office.

I hear Melanie gasp, and I am almost scared to look, afraid of what I might accidently see. I was informed early on in this life about what kind of relations the humans had, or, have, with each other, and I don't want to accidently witness this happening between Melanie and Jared.

"Oh, ow, not ready yet; my side still hurts like hell if I stretch." She says in slight pain. Ok, I think I can look now. I peak over my shoulder at them just in time to see Jared backing off slightly, a look of disappointment on his face. Melanie also looks disappointed, but it fades and she shoots an apologetic look at me when she notices that I've got my body angled in the other direction.

"Jared, this is Wanda. We, um, found her on the raid." Melanie says, turning towards Jared and pointing towards me. I bite my lip; the way she says talks about me, it almost sounds like I'm a puppy they found on the side of the road. Jared looks over at me, and I look away, embarrassed yet again at the sudden attention shift to me.

"Can you sleep with Jamie tonight, so she can sleep with me? I don't want her to have to stay here all night." I snap my head towards her and give her an alarmed look; I don't want her to have to kick Jared out of her bed just so that I can sleep there.

"Oh it's ok, you don't have to share your bed with me-"

"No, I'm not leaving you to sleep here or on the floor. You can sleep in me and Jared's room with me. Honestly, it's ok." She interrupts. Jared looks a little disappointed again but it's gone in an instant and he nods.

"Yea, that's fine with me; I don't mind." He says. I can see in his eyes that he does mind, at least a little, but the lie is so good that I believe him.

"Are you sure? Because I can-"

"Wanda. I'm sure; it's ok." She says. She hops off the bed, and grabs my arm as she starts dragging me towards the exit.

"Come on, it's late. I'm tired, Jared's tired, and I'm pretty sure you're tired too." She says, dragging me through the sets of tunnels for the second time today. This time is just as confusing as the first, but at least she's not moving nearly as fast as Jared was. The tunnels are just as dark though, and I feel almost blind as we move through them.

We walk in an awkward silent for a few minutes until Melanie stops in front of what looks like a large opening in the wall.

"Jared, stay out here a second." Melanie orders as she pulls me into the room. I cast a glance at him, but it's wasted, for I can't even see him anymore as I'm pulled into the room. Inside, I can barely make out two mattresses on either side of the room, with a blanket thrown over each. The mattress on the left looks occupied by a small body, and I catch Melanie sighing at the sight of the sleeping form.

"That's Jamie; he's sweet, and he won't hurt you." She says lovingly. She turns around to face me afterwards, with what I think is a glare on her face. "But if you hurt him, don't think I won't do twice as bad to you." She threatens. I glance back at the sleeping, child-sized form. I could never hurt anyone, let alone a child. She has nothing to worry about.

"Don't worry; I wouldn't even think about hurting him." I say truthfully.

"Good." She glances down at my clothes and gives me a look, and then reaches down and sifts through a pile of something before throwing a pair of shorts and a shirt at me.

"Here, put these on; they'll probably be more comfortable to sleep in." Is she crazy!? There's a guy outside the room, and a boy lying in the bed. I feel my cheeks become warm, and I wonder if she can see them glowing red in the darkness. I make out her form turning around, but she turns back around at my silence.

"Well? Are you going to change?" She asks impatiently. I look around the room again, clutching the clothes to my chest. Seeing my discomfort, Melanie waves it off with her hand.

"Oh, Jamie won't wake up. Even if he did he wouldn't see you; and if Jared came in and saw you, it would probably be the last thing he ever saw." She says nonchalantly. I flinch at the threat; she talks to casually about making a person go blind. I also note that she implies that Jared would be able to see me in the dark, unlike Jamie. The thought makes me slightly uneasy, but I ignore it.

Though it does reassure me a little, I still turn and squeeze myself into the corner while switching my clothes with a tank top and some short shorts. I feel instantly cooler, finally noticing the faintest breeze wrapping around my shoulders. I have no idea how I'm feeling a breeze, but I'm deciding I'll just go with it. I fold my clothes and place them down in the corner; hopefully I'm not disturbing their things.

"I guess when you wake up put the sunglasses back on before anyone sees you, and I'll take us both to see Jeb in the morning." She says, plopping down on the bed. "Ok?"

I nod, but then, realizing she can't see it, say "Ok." back. I sit gingerly on the bed beside her, and try to make myself as small as possible on the edge. The mattress pops up as Melanie gets up, and I hear her footsteps going outside. Her and Jared's murmuring lulls me into a sleepy state, and finally I realize just how tired I really am.

Then I get to thinking. What if this is all some trick? What if she's pretending to like me just so I trust her, which will make it so much easier to kill me in the end; what if I'm playing right into their trap? Melanie seems earnest, but I probably wouldn't be able to tell if she's being honest or not. I guess the only thing I can do at the moment is stick around her, and hope for my sake that she's not lying.

I take off my sunglasses and sit them on the floor beside me, making it easier for my head to lay flat.

There's a sudden shuffling, and two sets of footsteps come into the room. I shrivel up to make myself even smaller, if that's even possible, in order to make as much room for Melanie. The mattress shifts as she lies down, and I try to be still as possible.

After about 10 minutes of sitting in still silence, I feel the mattress shift yet again as Melanie gets up. That's strange, why would she be getting up again? After a few seconds there's an almost silent scraping sound, and something lands with a thump on the floor across the room.

Careful not to make any sudden movements, I slowly turn my head and strain my eyes in the dark, trying to see across the room. After a few seconds my eyes adjust, and I can barely make out a shape sitting against the wall, right next to the door. Did Melanie put something there?

Suddenly the shape moves, and I freeze; the shape _is _Melanie. Why is she sitting on the ground? I hope I didn't take up too much room on her bed and force her to sleep on the floor. Without my sunglasses on, I can see slightly better. Just enough to see that she's turned towards me; is she watching me?

Melanie doesn't move again, her body still facing me. She must be watching, waiting to see if I'll do something while everyone else is asleep; she must still not trust me that much. My heart pangs a little, but I can see why; I haven't given her a concrete reason to trust me.

I slowly lay my head back down on the bed, attempting to avoid Melanie's stare as I close my eyes, hoping that sleep with come eventually.

"You ugly little worm." Melanie hisses, tightening her hold on my neck. She lifts my fragile body higher up the wall, leaving my legs to dangle in the air. I claw at her hands and attempt to kick her, but she's standing just out of reach. She smirks at my struggles, and I wonder why no one else is here to see us; this hallway can't be _that_ excluded. My lungs begin to burn from the lack of air, and small choking sounds fill the empty hallway.

"You thought I was your friend." She laughs at me, and I can feel my face fall. "You're so _pathetic." _Her anger overwhelms me; this body doesn't know this much hate. My heart breaks and before I can help it a small tear escapes my eye. Her eyes flash, looking at me like a predator would look at prey.

"You let a _human_ trick you into letting your guard down, and now you're sleeping in her bed." She stops and gives me a sardonic smile. "Tsk tsk Wanda, what would your friends think?" Melanie says maliciously. My friends…Sing… what _would _she think of me? Would she think so little of me, like Melanie says?

Melanie's hazel eyes suddenly turn a startling crystal blue, and her brown hair shrinks to her head and darkens to the point of almost being black. Now it looks like more of a boy's hair style. She grows tall before my eyes, here clothes changing, her muscles growing. After a few seconds, I finally recognize who she's become.

She's become Kyle.

A wicked smile appears on his face and suddenly my back is lifted off of the wall behind me, just to be slammed against it half of a second later. A strangled cry escapes me throat, and Kyle throws me to the ground. I land on my side, and my head knocks the ground.

"Poor little worm; it thought it had a friend." Kyle says mockingly, and the calmness in his voice scares me more than the anger. Something slams into my side, and seconds later I realized it was his foot.

"It thought it was safe." Another kick reaches my side. I curl into a ball and face the wall, trying to lessen the damage being caused. The kicks come faster now, and I clamp my mouth shut; if I open it, I'm scared I'll start screaming.

After a few minutes of this my side becomes numb, and I don't know whether to be happy or scared because of it. Right now I choose to be happy for it, because the sharp pains are now just a steady throbbing.

"You don't belong here." Kyle hisses, and I know he has stopped kicking from the now silent hallway. "You're worse than the dirt beneath my feet." I squeeze my eyes shut and try to tune him out.

Silence greets me, and I slowly peel my eyes open. Maybe it worked; maybe I tuned him out so much that he disappeared.

I turn around to look over my shoulder, and my gaze locks with Melanie's. She stands in the same spot Kyle did, a smirk on her face.

"Melanie-" I don't realize she pulled her foot back until it's right in front of my face. I don't realize it's right in front of my face until there's a crunching sound, followed by a blinding pain explodes around my nose. The burning takes my breath away, and I welcome the darkness as tears roll down my cheaks.

I jump up in the bed so fast that I'm momentarily blinded. When my vision comes back, I know it wouldn't have made a difference anyways; it's still sort of dark. My hands fly up to my nose, expecting them to come back with red liquid on them, but in the dim light I can see they come back clean. The crunching sound echoes in my head, and I around, frantically searching for a glowering Melanie. I let out a breath I don't realize I've been holding when I can finally make out her sleeping form across the room.

A dream. It was just a dream. It didn't really happen.

A shiver runs through me as the image of Melanie's malicious smile enters my mind; how could something so horrible even be put into a feeling? Does she really think like that about me? Kyle probably does, but Melanie…

I sigh in relief and fall back onto the bed. My chest moves rapidly up and down, and I feel a sweat break out on my forehead. That's so strange; earlier I was freezing, and now I'm sweating.

I look back over at her slouched form, her eyes closed while her head lies limply on her shoulder; she must have fallen asleep. My eyes are about to travel elsewhere when I spot the gun lying across her lap. I stare at the wooden object, willing it to disappear, but it remains the same, sitting on Melanie's lap like a warning. Did she have the gun trained on me all night? Or worse, was she going to shoot me?!

I lay back down on my back and stare blankly at the ceiling. What am I even doing here. They're just going to kill me in the end, or who knows what else.

Suddenly I hear footsteps in the hallway. My heart thuds in my chest, and I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to pretend I'm asleep; maybe they didn't see me.

The footsteps stop at the door, and I'm pretty sure whoever it is can hear my heart beating against my chest. I try to remain as still as I can manage, but I feel like I'm going to explode if I keep still any longer. The footsteps don't start back up for a few more seconds, and when I'm sure that they're gone, I open my eyes a sliver to look at the doorway. No one is standing there when I look, and I open them all the way.

I strain my ears, but I can't hear any receding footsteps anymore. Maybe I imagined the whole thing; no, never mind, there's no way I could have imagined that. It sounded so real.

I glance uncertainly towards Melanie, and, before I can change my mind, am standing up with her sunglasses lying across my eyes.

I'll just look out into the hallway, and then come back inside the room.

I poke my head ou

outside of the room and look up and down the empty hallway. I don't whether I'm happy or not at the lack of anyone, but I probably should have expected it. Judging from the amount of light, I can imagine that it's only about seven o'clock. This isn't that early for me, but judging from how deep into sleep Melanie and Jared are, I can assume that it's early for them.

I long to explore down the hallway; I didn't have a chance last night to notice the rock formations that make the hallway, but now that I can I'm in awe of its beauty and detail. Small lines run up and down the rock, and I wonder if it's the same as with a tree; that you can count its years by counting the lines; if this is so, than the rock is not nearly as old as me, but old as me, but still very old for this earth.

I run my hand along it, and before I realize it, I'm walking down the hallway, my fingers tracing the small lines engraved into the rock. They extend all the way to the low ceiling, where more lines criss cross on top of each other.

It's silent as I walk, the only sound being my bare feet against the sand. Wait, bare feet? I look down, confirming the lack of shoes on my feet. Where are my shoes? I think back to going to Melanie's room last night, but I don't think I was wearing any then, either. Come to think of it, I don't think I was wearing any shoes in the truck. Did I leave my house without any shoes? How have I not realized this before now?

But I didn't leave my house; Melanie and Kyle took me from my house. Something spikes in my heart, but I can't place the emotion; fear or anger. I'm surprised that anger is even an option at all though; Melanie doesn't seem as bad as she was at my house. It was really Kyle who had been most threatening…

I forget my thoughts as I finally take in where I am. Or, more importantly, where I'm not. I'm no longer in the hallway I began at; I'm in some other hallway that looks exactly like the first, minus the openings for Melanie's room. Oh no, I must have been so focused on not having shoes that I went too far!

I spin around and start quickly walking back in the direction that I came, but as I round the corner at the end of the hallway I'm met with an intersection, cutting off into three other directions. Oh no. I glance down all of them, but they're all as blank as the one I just came down. Except one. There's an opening down the hallway on the right, very similar to the opening outside of Melanie's room.

I happily run down to it, not even believing my luck; if I had gotten lost out here, who know what would have ha- oh no. Oh no no no no no.

I fall back against the wall behind me, so surprised at the human who isn't Melanie sleeping on the mattress inside the room, that I let out a small squeak. My hand shoots up to cover my mouth, and I pray the person didn't hear me. To my relief, the body doesn't move, and I assume he didn't hear me.

I slowly walk backwards down the hallway, watching the room and listening for any sign that the person inside heard me. When I reach the intersection without any signs, I finally calm down and look down each hallway.

If that wasn't the right hallway, than that means that I have no idea where I am. I must have walked down the wrong hallway when I was heading back. Ok, this is easy to fix; I just have to retrace my steps. But which way did I turn when I came into this hallway? I know I didn't go straight, so it must have been either left or right. But which one?

I think it might have been left. Yes, that was the one. So if I turned left than, than I have to turn right now!

I walk down the tunnel on the right, crossing my fingers it was the right direction. But, as I glance along the smooth walls and high ceiling, I have a suspicion that it's not, but finding my way back to Melanie's room at this point is nearly impossible, so I might as well keep going anyways. This hallway has probably about four turns in it, and with each turn the light in the tunnel slowly got brighter; maybe I'm heading outside. I can't decide whether the thought is comforting or threatening though; either way, it will have been the first time I actually have use for the sunglasses besides blinding me.

When I round the last corner, I'm dropped off in a giant room. The floor in this one, unlike the hallways that were coated in dark sand, is mostly covered in what appears to be dirt. The area around the giant dirt square, though it isn't much, is made of some kind of clay. This dirt is weird though; unlike the dirt I have at my house back home, this dirt is grainy, and it's clumped together in tight little balls.

I reach down and pick scoop some of it up into my hand, and watch as it trails out of my palm and onto the ground. Upon closer inspection, I can see that there are separate rows visible in the dirt; longs lines were the dirt has been pushed aside, creating long gaps along the length of the square. Why is this here? Are they planting something? I have no idea where they would get the water for the plants, if that is indeed what they are doing, let alone the sunlight needed.

Speaking of sunlight, I look around, realizing that this room is indeed brighter than the rest of the hallways. Not very bright, considering it's still early, but bright enough that I notice a visible difference. But where is it coming from…

I slowly tilt my head back to look at the ceiling, or, in this case, the cone shaped roof above me. Something lines the walls of it, something that is as bright as the sun, which in turn prevents me from looking at it for too long. Wait, those aren't walls, those are mirrors! What a smart idea; using mirrors to reflect the sun. There must be some hole at the very top, or else the it wouldn't be able to get in at all. Whoever came up with it must be a genius; I would've never thought to use mirrors.

"Pretty impressive, isn't it?" A voice says behind me. My blood runs cold, and the smile falls from my face, quickly to be replaced with a grimace as I recognize it as Kyle's; he must have woken up in the "doctor's office" and followed me here. To kill me while everyone's asleep. To ensure no witnesses.

My breathing comes out in quick gasps and my throat begins to ache, the memory of Kyle's arm around it snaking its way into my mind. I can't imagine what he's going to do now, but I know it isn't going to be good.

A hand on my shoulder is the thing that unfreezes my limps, and I begin to spin around; if I can do anything, I'll face him head on. Running is out of the option, thanks to my carelessness of not paying attention while he approached me.

I spin on my heel, towards the voice, only to feel the dirt beneath my feet disappear and my blonde hair flying in front of my face. My arms flail outwards, grasping for anything that can keep me from falling, and I again curse myself for being such a klutz.

I look over my shoulder, squeezing my eyes shut once I see the upcoming ground; my shoulder should take the force of the blow, but even this doesn't comfort me. Looks like Kyle doesn't even need to hurt me after all; I can do it all on my own.

At the very last second, big hands engulf my small wrists, and my body stutters in it's downfall.

"Woah, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Kyle says. Wait, why would he not mean to scare me? And why is he apologizing to me? And why did he keep me from falling?!

I slowly peel my eyes open, expecting to find Kyle's sneering face, but instead find myself looking at a different person altogether. It's Kyle's voice, and Kyle's features, but this isn't Kyle. This person has softer eyes, still brilliant blue, but more of a sky blue than ice, like Kyle's. His skin is also fairer than Kyle's, though it's still really tan. His messy, dark hair almost match's Kyle's identically; overall, the two look very similar. They must be related somehow; maybe brothers. Except, this guy seems somewhat nicer, and calmer than Kyle.

Then I remember why he's being nice; I'm wearing the sunglasses. He can't see my eyes beneath them, so he believes I'm human. So, he's only being nice because he thinks I'm human. Great. Why he doesn't call attention to the sunglasses though is the only thing I don't know.

His hands pull on my arms until I'm in a standing position, our bodies inches apart. I'm fully aware of the closeness, and I'm pretty sure he does too. My cheeks heat up and I take a step back, careful where I step this time. He grins at my expression, which only makes me blush more; but, for some reason, I feel my heart warm at his grin. What a strange feeling. Having someone make me feel this way about them that is.

I realize I have been standing here, staring at him in silence, which makes my cheeks burn even more. Wow; that's three times in the last two minutes. I look instead back up at the mirrors. "It's ok; you just startled me, and yes, it is very impressive; beautiful even." I say.

"Yep; you came with Melanie, right?" He suddenly asks. I tense up, my shoulders become rigid; maybe, hopefully, he didn't notice. I turn to look at him, but stop short when I see the question lying in his eyes; nope, he definitely saw. I bite my lip, and look down at the dirt, away from his face.

"Yes; she found me at my house. It was on the edge of town." I say, and decide to turn back to him. It's not a total lie; but it does sound like one. The end of my sentence falls flat, and I know that he knows it's a lie. He's quick to hide any doubt though, and he instead focuses his attention on my neck.

"What happened to your neck?" He asks, and I can see his hand rising towards me out of the corner of my eye. Please don't touch please don't touch me please don't tou-

His fingers brush against my skin, sending a parade of goose bumps down my neck. I flinch away from his touch, and a frown makes its way onto his face. He drops his hand quickly, and I feel bad for doing it, but don't say anything. He ignores it, and keeps eyes remain intent on my neck.

I can only imagine what he sees; a large, purple bruising going in a ring around my neck, a reminder of Kyle's arm around my neck. I know it happened just yesterday, but from experience this body bruises very badly and quickly.

"Nothing." I say. I might have said it too quickly though, because something in his expression says he doesn't believe me. "It doesn't hurt though." I add; maybe that little detail will make him forget about it.

In the end it isn't enough, and I see the edges of his lip twitch as he's about to argue with me.

"Are you Kyle's brother?" I blurt out, cutting off anything he was about to say. I involuntary flinch as I say his name, but the guy doesn't notice this time; or, if he does, he doesn't show it. Surprise flashes across his face at my question, and he's taken back for a second.

"Yea, unfortunately. Why?" He questions. I shrug.

"You just look a lot like him; same hair, same eyes, same…well, everything really." I say looking him up and down.

"So you've met Kyle." He says, his voice flat. The tone, or lack of, in his voice makes me look back up at him.

"Yes." The guy sighs.

"Well, that's unfortunate." Though I don't know why he talks negative of his brother, the joke makes me smile. A small laugh escapes, and the bell-like sound seems to echo in the giant room. He smiles down at me, and I mean actually looking down. He's just as tall as Jared is (I only come to about half a foot below his shoulders)

"Why?" I ask; I already know the answer, but I just want to know what he'll say. ZUddenly something across the room catches my eye.

I look over the guys shoulder, and I feel my heart almost stop beating at the sight of Kyle walking into the room.

"What's wrong?" The guy asks, his smile turning confused when he sees my expression. He looks behind him, and notices Kyle coming towards us; no, stalking towards us. He looks back at me, even more confused, but doesn't say anything as he turns back to Kyle.

I squeeze my shaking hand into a fist, my nails biting into the flesh on my palm; it's not too late to run. I could always try to go back down one of the hallways. Though I'd get lost, at least I'd be lost alone. But, one look at Kyle and his brother turns that plan to dust. There's no way I could outrun one, let alone both of them. It would only make it worse.

"You." Kyle says, the threat clear in his voice, as he takes long strides toward us, closing the distance almost instantly. The one word freezes me in place, and I gulp, trying to ignore my hands, which are shaking even more now, if that were possible.

He stops a few feet in front of me, his face twisted with fury. His brother stands in between us, looking confused. I notice that he has angled his body towards me, shielding my body partially behind his. Why he would do this, I don't know.

There's suddenly a heavy pressure on my cheek, and my head rockets to the side, my eyes making contact with the wall behind me as the world tilts. I hit the ground with a small thud, and my temple smacks hard against the clay floor. Small stars dot my vision, and something rings in my ears. I think he just punched me.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" I hear the guy yell. There's a scuffing sound, and I wonder if he pushed Kyle. I swallow the sob that makes it's way up my throat and cup my jaw as a metallic taste fills my mouth. I wipe at it, and start to shake at the sight of blood on the back of my hand.

I close my eyes for a few seconds and breathe deeply, trying to calm myself before opening them and turning back towards Kyle and his brother.

Kyle's standing a few feet away from the guy, his blue eyes murderous. No, they can't be fighting; they're bothers they shouldn't be fighting. Wait, they're fighting over me! No, no they can't fight because of me.

"Stop!" I yell before I realize what I'm doing. I push to my feet, keeping my eyes on both of them. The brother glances over at me angry, but the anger melts away into shock, and his eyes lock on mine. His mouth parts slightly, and he freezes. What's wrong with him? Wait, he must be seeing the blood. I wipe at my mouth again, swallowing my fear as more blood shows up on my hand.

Kyle laughs, a cold, bitter sound that sends another shiver down my spine. "Lose something, worm?" He asks, a smirk on his face. Lose something? What is he talking about, I haven't lost anyth- no. No, no this can't happen. My hand shoots up to my eyes, and to my horror, I feel the emptiness there.

My sunglasses aren't on anymore.

I look down at the floor where I had fallen, and, like I thought, the dark object was laying there.

I look back up at Kyle in shock as my heart begins thudding painfully in my chest, the ache in my jaw long forgotten. Well, at least I know they won't be fighting anymore.

As this thought runs through my head, my legs unfreeze and I take off sprinting in the opposite direction, away from them. I catch them both by surprise, and this gains me a extra few feet, but it's as if the scene from my kitchen is replaying itself, this time with two sets of footsteps right behind me instead of one.

"Grab it Ian!" Kyle yells. Ian; so his name is Ian. "Kill it!" Well, at least I'll know the name of my killer.

Just like before, a huge weight is suddenly on my back, and I fall face first onto the floor. I don't have time to access the damage that alone did before I'm lying on my back, staring in a pair a icy blue eyes; this time they aren't Kyle's. A block is suddenly around my throat, and the bruises from before are the least of my worries. This force crushes my neck, and I feel like my eyes are going to pop out at the strain.

"Go get Jared." Ian says to Kyle through barred teeth, without turning away from me. There's the sound of running footsteps, and I know that Kyle's left the room. The brother doesn't move an inch as he glares down at me angrily, his eyes never breaking contact with mine. How could I have thought those eyes were kind? They hold nothing but malice and hatred. I can now see how much alike the two really are, with their shared hatred. I was stupid to think they were different.

My small hands fly into my vision, pushing against his face at an effort to get him off of me, but it's like trying to move a rock; it's not going to happen. Opting for another option, I attempt to kick my legs against him, just to find that they're trapped. It's now that I realize that he's basically sitting on my legs, cutting off any movements requiring them, with his arms stretched out and around my throat.

No. No no no this can't be happening. I'm trapped. I'm stuck. I'm actually going to die.

I try to smack or punch his face, his terrible, impassive face, but my arms seem to not work anymore, and my "slap" turns into more of a brush against his cheek. My blood pumps so hard in my ears that all I hear I my pulse, crushing me like he was crushing me.

His eyes are the last thing I see before something black comes in front of mine, and it takes me a second to realize that it's my eyelids. How funny; my eyelids are closing without me even needing to do anything. I attempt to open them again, but they refuse to move. My heart has almost stopped beating by now, and I'm engulfed in a still silence. I feel my head roll to the side until my cheek is on the ground; the cool, hard ground.

I guess this is it then; this is how I leave my life. Eight different worlds and this is how it all ends. This is the one I end on.

For some reason, I feel almost a peace.

That is, until shouting reaches my ears. My body doesn't initially react to it, and I wonder if it will ever react to anything again. The shouting comes closer, and something….a weight….is lifted off my neck. It doesn't make a difference though; I can't make my body breath in. The damage is done.

There's more screaming, and then silence, as something heavy is suddenly on my chest. It pushes against it for a few seconds, then something is on my face, and I feel air pushing it's way down my throat. The weight is back on my chest again, then off and then back on in the next second in a rhythm. What a strange thing; it almost feels like a heartbeat.

After a while of this plus more yelling, something finally clicks in my brain and pulls in my chest, and I quickly breathe in a painful breath. Yes, I remember how to breath now.

I breathe in again, but this time it's followed closely by a harsh cough. The couching racks at my lungs, and after a few seconds I find the strength to finally open my eyes. Melanie stands over me, a over joyous relieved look on her face.

"Oh thank god." She says, plopping down next to me and sitting me up. "God Wanda, don't do that! I thought you died!" She says over my coughing. She's breathing heavily, and it warms my heart to realize she was worried. But, I didn't mean to cause her that much worry.

"I'm sorry." I apologize. Melanie just rolls her eyes.

"I was kidding; you don't have to apologize for anything. They should be." She nods he head behind her, where Jared, Kyle, and Kyle's brother stand, menacingly in the doorway I came through earlier.

"Thanks for bringing it back Melanie; now we can kill it all over again." Kyle says, unfazed. A chill runs through me, and I look away. Melanie scoots over to sit in front of me, shielding my body from the boys.

"You want HER, you have to go through me." Melanie practically hisses at them, putting emphasis on the her. Thanks Melanie.

"Her? You've got to be kidding me." Ian says. Ok, that hurt.

"Mel, get away from it." Jared says, trying and failing to conceal his anger and worry; well, mostly anger. His face looks pained at seeing Meanie over here, and I can only imagine this pain is mirrored on Melanie. I don't want to do this to them; I don't want them to be against each other because of me. From what I've heard they're friends. I don't want to tear them apart. From their stances, me and Melanie over here, all three of them on the other side of the room, it feels like a war zone. Us against them.

"Melanie, you don't have to do this; you don't have to protect me." I say, turning to look at her. Melanie just waves it off.

"Yes, yes I do, because those fucking dumbasses over there are thinking of doing something stupid. What a shocker." She says coldly. Suddenly everyone starts yelling at once, and curse words fly from both sides. I can't make out exactly who's saying what, but I can tell that a fight's about to break out. But I can't have them fighting each other.

"Stop, you guys shouldn't be fighting!" I yell. No one seems as though they can hear me, which they probably can't over their own yelling. "Stop yelling at each other!" I try again, but just like before, no one listens. Finally I just give in and pull my legs to my chest and wrap my arms around them. I lay my head against the top of my knee, my jaw still aching from Kyle's blow. Hopefully it's stopped bleeding by now. I wrap myself into a little ball, trying to block out all the yelling.

"HEY!" An authorative voice yells. His voice isn't louder than everyone else's, but the yelling slowly quiets down and then stops all together. Well, after Melanie yells a final "asshole" towards the guys.

"Shut yer traps and listen to the girl!" He chastises. I lift my head up and look over my shoulder, to the doorway behind me, to find a man with dark grey hair standing there, a rifle held loosely in his hands. I flinch at the sight of the object, but I feel like I've almost grown accustomed to seeing it. That's a sad thought.

"It's not a girl, Jeb." Kyle says, and I hear him spit onto the ground. Melanie shoots a dark look behind us, but otherwise doesn't say anything.

"What in god's name are you talking about, Kyle?" Jeb asks, his eyes on me. His vision must not be good enough to notice my eyes on his own.

"Look at it's eyes." Jared answers for him. Melanie doesn't look back this time, but I can see her hand tighten into a fist.

Jeb squints his eyes and walks closer to me. After a few feet he stops, a perplexed look on his face. He doesn't start yelling or come after me like everyone else did, which at this point I don't even have the energy to try and stop him, but instead just slowly lets out a low whistle.

"Well then; wasn't 'specting that."

**WHEW that's a long chapter. Hope it wasn't so long though that you lost interest. Hopefully not. If you did, I'm so sorry. Try reading half now and half later, that should probably work. As said before, I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a while. Stupid writers block. If anyone has any ideas, they can always put them in a review to me if you want. Just sayin. **

**Ok, well, thank you so much for reading, and I'll see you next post.**


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